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Re: The all new 2012/13 Area 55, G2 Zone & PTO thread....

Sometimes it is best to say nothing about some games. Our brief sojourn in New England is one of those times. I have repressed its memory. There….Hey, who do we play next?

Answer: The Milwaukee Bucks, who have beaten us twice in rather humiliating fashion. Personally, I am tired of humiliation. I want revenge. Hopefully, we’ll see some tonight. I’m optimistic. The Pacers are pretty mercurial. They tend to bounce up and pop teams after someone squashes them flat.

Tonight, our antlered friends from Cheese Country leave their usual salt lick to visit the warm confines of The Bank. Last night, they were dispatched neatly by the Rockets 115-101 and have now lost 3 in a row. Their big guns, Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings, had a so-so night, scoring 12 and 16 points, respectively. The Bucks' big problem was 25 turnovers and poor perimeter defense. The Rockets' Carlos Delfino went 6-7 from 3-point land and James (“Fuzzy”) Harden pumped in 29 points on them. My guess is the Bucks' coach, Plymouth, Indiana's own Scott Skiles, was less than happy. At any rate, we shouldn't be viewing the Bucks on one of their up notes.

The key to beating Milwaukee is containing Ellis and Jennings. As they go, so go the Bucks. In the last two games we didn’t do that and lost big time. However, I think we can do this at home, particularly if we pressure our antlered friends into the same sort of turnover night that they had against Houston. The Bucks really have no answer to David (“D-Train”) West, whose recent shooting funk, I think, will end tonight. Also when we played the Bucks before Tyler Hansbrough was a different sort of psychotic than he’s been lately. Roy’s game too has been modestly improving and he’s way overdue for a breakout night. Add Area 55 and the G2 Zone into the mix and I think we come away with a win. I’ve been pretty good on my predictions lately too. Better than Mike Wells, anyway. Let’s see what happens!

Detroit Road Trip There’s been a lot of early interest in the Detroit Road Trip, which is scheduled for Saturday, February 23rd at 7:00 P.M. At last count, I’ve got something like 43 names down just from Area 55. I’ve heard that G2 Zone has a similarly lengthy list. Pacers Marketing Jefe, Rob Laycock, will be looking into the possibility of scoring us a block of tickets at, hopefully, reduced rates. Hell, maybe we can score a bus too. Watch this Newsletter for further info.

The Western Boone Star Force Dance Team Comes to BLF! At the Wizards game, fans were treated to the martial choreography of the Western Boone High School “Star Force” Dance Team. Sadly, I was not all that wowed by their performance. I was hoping to see the bend-o antics of Rubberboy (“The World’s Most Flexible Man”), so I confess to viewing “Star Force” with a somewhat jaundiced eye right from the get-go.

But there are other reasons for my giving "Star Force" just a ho-hum review. Frankly, I’m always just a tad underwhelmed when PS&E opts for unpaid halftime amusement from the happy feet of local area dance or exercise troupes. I’ve always suspected that such interludes are not really intended to be seen but, rather, are periodically inserted into BLF halftime fare simply to gin up sales of beer, hot dogs and popcorn at the elite Blue Flame Grill. These extravaganzas don’t really cater to the jaded tastes of Area 55ers like me, that have been forced to watch their ilk at Pacers halftime shows over and over again now for three solid years.

Nope, I admit to having a preference for the slicker weirdness which comes from paid regulars - the professional NBA halftime charlatans like Tom Silver (“The World’s Greatest Hypnotist”) or Dan Menendez (“The Piano Juggler”) for example. When you have to stay in your seat to watch amateurs like “Star Force”, you never really expect much and always have to concede the tyros style points just because they’re homie wannabe entertainers that don’t know any better. With David Stern's paid family-fun pros, I feel less inhibited. I can let loose with a stinging review or a boo and a hiss at the conclusion of a performance with no pangs of conscience whatsoever.

All that said, I still have to scratch my head a little to describe here exactly what “Star Force” was all about.

As far as I could tell “Star Force” consisted of around 20 or 25 high school students -- mostly girls, but there were a few guys in there too -- from Thorntown, Indiana (where Western Boone H.S. is located and where “Star Force” is apparently headquartered). The troupe’s members were all dressed oddly – wearing Army surplus camouflage fatigues and black combat boots. Some were in full camouflage. However, a few of the women in the group (who looked kind of hot to me!) had spangled black clingy tops on, which sort of detracted from their decidedly camouflaged pants. I like the sexiness of clingy black tops however, so the troupe picked up a style point or two for that.

The use of all the camouflage gear actually puzzled me. Perhaps Star Force was trying to meld into the shrubbery and not be seen. But if that was the idea, it was an epic fail since jungle flora into which they could merge was distinctly lacking at BLF center court in wintry Indianapolis on January 2nd. Despite their camouflage, I could see them all quite well.

Their dance act was OK. It was pretty energetic and set to some bouncy rhythmic musical stuff that I (being hip-hop challenged) didn’t recognize. The dancers all seemed to be in sync, so I can’t fault them on their choreography either – which seemed to borrow a lot from Hong Kong cinema. It featured plenty of karate-style punches, some Taoist arm folds and oodles of synchronized kicking. I don’t know if there was an intended theme to it all or not. To me, it looked like a promo for “Jackie Chan Leaves the Shaolin Pagoda and Joins the Green Berets” but I readily admit that other viewers may have had a different take. Anyway, “Star Force” punched and kicked away frenetically for a good 6 or 7 minutes and then exited to good-natured applause from the largely indifferent crowd. Maybe the fans were simply recovering from a New Year’s Eve hangover and were in no condition to be picky about their 2013 halftime fun. Maybe they were still hyp-mo-tized from the Memphis game's show. It's hard to say.

Personally, in keeping with all the commando fun, I would have liked to have seen a couple of chicken wire and paper-maché tanks or armored cars mixed in with the dancing. Or perhaps, if Star Force’s deal was to emulate a Navy Seal strike – which is one possibility – maybe we could have had a couple of dancers sporting A-Team mohawks and chains a la Mr. T or perhaps a couple of turbaned terrorists or camels thrown in for light comic relief. The act needed something more than what we were shown. For instance, I would have liked to have pit them against the Korean Tae Kwan Do Academy that appeared a few weeks ago. Then we could have had more realistic kick carnage. Also, sporting types like me could have placed bets on the body count after all the stylized blood and gore was over.

As goofy as the Star Force performance was, I am thankful for one thing -- there was no Armed Forces swearing-in ceremony at its climactic end. While an army veteran myself, I still confess to having pacifist tendencies. Yeah, I know it's stimulating and patriotic and all, but personally I’m a little tired of our ongoing halftime glorification of war. More to the point, I’m still reeling from the awfulness of the mass Air Force swearing-in ceremony that passed for halftime fun back when we played New Orleans.

All in all, I still give “Star Force” a solid B. It coulda been better, but they were, after all, just unpaid high school kids and the effort was there.

Re: The all new 2012/13 Area 55, G2 Zone & PTO thread....

AREA 55 NEWS YOU CAN TAKE TO THE BANK!!!!!

Greetings, fellow 55ers!

Well, tonight’s the night, fellow fun-seekers. Time for a rematch with the team that put us out of the Playoffs last year. Yup, our foe this fine eve will be the hated Miami Heat. If there was ever cause for Area 55 to be extra loud and vocal, this is it! I like our chances. Why’s that?

Well, first of all, we’ve got them at home. And that means something to us. George Hill put it this way:

"Coach (Frank Vogel) is holding us accountable to protect our home court. Like he says, this is supposed to be sacred ground, something we have to cherish when other people come into this arena. It takes all of us, and that's what we're buying into."

Our Pacers are 12-3 at home. We’ve won our last 7 at BLF.

Secondly, if the past is prologue, it’s worth noting that Miami has traditionally been no great shakes in Indy. Historically, their regular season record against us is 9-35.

Third, the Heat have cooled when the road calls them away from sunny South Beach. So far this season they’ve only been 7-6 when they have to sleep in out of town hotels. They aren’t exactly on a roll either. They’ve lost 3 of their last 5 games. Their most recent win is hardly worth counting, since it came at home earlier this week against the hapless Washington Wizards.

Fourth, we know the Heat. The Pacers aren’t in awe of them. We damn near had them dead last year when we went up 2-1 and unfortunately lost a pivotal Game 3 to them in the Playoffs.

Fifth, we don’t like them. Remember these little episodes from the Playoffs?

Lance Stephenson and Tyler Hansbrough probably remember some of these little tete-a-tetes too.

Area 55 Pre-Game Viewing! I got this from the Suits, happy members. Let’s show up en masse at 4:45 P.M. and fire the boys up for the carnage to come! And wear your yellow shirts!

“There will be an Area 55 Pre-Game viewing on Tuesday against the Miami Heat. Similar to last time, you will watch Roy and the team warm up pre-game. Only those with an Area 55 ticket will be eligible to attend.

Please meet at the IU Pavilion entrance at 4:45pm. Zac will escort you courtside at 5:00pm.

Thank you,

Area 55 Staff”

NOW FOR SOME FUN FACTS ABOUT THE MIAMI HEAT!

A Happy End to an Unhappy Lawsuit! Readers of this informative Newsletter will recall that the last time the Heat was in town, LeBron’s Mom, Gloria James, was embroiled in civil and criminal proceedings after she allegedly pasted a hotel parking valet in the face in an unfortunate inebriation episode at Miami’s swank Fountainebleau Hotel. The criminal consequences of the ensuing battery and disorderly intoxication charges were happily resolved with a prosecutorial deal that had Gloria performing 20 hours of community service and donating $1,000 to a Haitian relief fund in exchange for dropping the charges. Unfortunately, the valet brought a civil action against Gloria too and that, also unfortunately, was not so easily dismissed.

However, 2013 rings in a new year and in the spirit of promoting new starts (and 4 days before the matter was slated to go to trial) LeBron dutifully ponied up an undisclosed amount of coin to put the valet’s civil action against his Mom to bed. According to Gloria’s lawyer, it was a win-win for everybody!

"It's a positive step for everyone," Gloria’s lawyer, Robert A. Stok said, noting that the terms of the deal are confidential. "Any time you can settle a lawsuit it's a good thing."

We agree. Out of court settlements are wonderful things. Especially if going to trial means there’s a great chance that you just might lose even more bucks.

Dwayne Wade Unveils Unique Crossover Move on Ramon Sessions! When Paul George tries to put the lock on Dwayne Wade tonight, we urge him to beware of a new move that Dwayne has unveiled in order to freeze and get around unwary defenders. No, it’s not a “crab dribble” – that’s LeBron’s move, although crabs do sometimes inhabit the body area which is the focus of Dwayne’s new offensive wrinkle. Watch Dwayne in action here and defenders be wary:

When Dwayne was suspended for a game without pay by the NBA, he tweeted to his loyal Twitter followers thusly:

"I'm far from being a dirty player + my intent was never 2 kick Ramon Sessions. I just reacted to the contact that I got from him.... More than anything, I think of my boys watchin me be4 retaliating 2ward any player. Im moving 4ward + ready 2 get back on the court in MIL."

Right, Dwayne. You just have to move on when your moves look ambiguously like a kick to the groin. And when the NBA gets all chippy on you and misguidedly takes unwarranted disciplinary action you and your kids just need to move on too. Tweeted like the true champ you are!

Chris Bosh – How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways! Detroit coach Lawrence Frank described LeBron James recently as being a “freak” - alluding, in context, to his ability to guard anyone 1 through 5 on the court. True, I guess. But the Heat have other freaks of nature on their team. Consider, shall we, Heat center Chris Bosh

Look at Chris’ neck, for example, the strange head, the bulging eyes, and the inordinate wingspan. What strange sequence of DNA events caused all this? Science, as yet, has few answers.

Re: The all new 2012/13 Area 55, G2 Zone & PTO thread....

AREA 55 NEWS YOU CAN TAKE TO THE BANK!!!!!

Salutations 55ers!

Yeah, I know this is late. But hey, I work for a living too!

Everybody still feeling good about the Miami win? Me too. But there’s no rest for the weary. Forget about Miami. Now it’s the Knicks. And even without Carmelo Anthony, they present all kinds of trouble for us. We are going to have to be extremely, extremely vocal tonight. Our guys can’t afford any emotional letdown.

Why am I worried?

Well, the Knicks, at 23-11, sit atop the Atlantic Division. They have the second best record in the East, just a smidgeon behind Miami (23-10). Their leading scorer, of course, is Carmelo Anthony (29 points per game). We’ve caught a big break tonight because, as mentioned, he will not be playing tonight.

See, Carmelo got in a tiff in his last game with the Boston Celtics’ mouthy center, Kevin Garnett. Kevin reportedly irritated Carmelo by opining to Carmelo that his wife, Lala Vasquez, had private parts that tasted just like a honey-nut flavored breakfast cereal. Anyway, Carmelo took issue with Kevin’s assessment and sprang to her defense, jawing with Garnett about the insult the rest of the game. Carmelo was so mad that he attempted to confront Garnett again post-game as the teams were leaving the court and later at Boston’s bus when the Celtics were loading up to leave town. Anyway, the NBA heard about the post-game stuff and took offense.

These kinds of incidents always seem to have a tragic end. In Carmelo’s case, he was suspended for tonight’s game and fined around $175,000 – the NBA going rate, I guess, for “overreacting”.
Whether Lala Vasquez does, indeed, taste like the flavored cereal Kevin mentioned remains a subject of hot debate. I will not try to resolve this question here.
Carmelo aside, the Knicks are still trouble for us. More than anything, they’re big, experienced, and generally pretty good. Tyson Chandler, at 7’1” is a rebounding machine (10.5 per game) and has a good outside shot (12.8 ppg). Over the past three games he’s been shooting 72% from the field. He always causes Roy trouble. In our last matchup in November, Roy held him to just 7 points and 9 rebound, while scoring 6 points and garnering 8 boards himself. Roy, however, had 6 turnovers on that night. He’s got to contain Chandler this evening.

The Knicks have a lot of scoring from other positions too. However, again fortunately for us, they aren’t very healthy tonight at these positions either. Their outside firepower comes mostly from guards J. R. Smith and Raymond Felton. They’re both good for around 15 points a night. Felton, however, reportedly won’t play tonight due to an injured finger. Smith is supposedly hurt too, with some sort of facial injury and whether he will play tonight will be a coaching decision. Ancient but usually effective Rasheed Wallace won’t play either. He has an injured knee.

Still, 6’10” Steve Novak is deadly from 3-point land. And let’s not forget about all the other vets the Knicks have – Amare Stoudamire is now back and working himself back into playing shape. Jason Kidd is no slouch from 3-pointland either. And look, they’ve also got Ronny Brewer and Marcus Camby under contract.

There’s other stuff too. The Knicks lost their last game against the Celtics. Statistically, they are 8-2 after they lose games. Also there’s the past to consider. When we faced them in New York on November 18th, they beat us 88-76 in a game that was not nearly as close as the score indicates.

That all said, we’re not the same team that lost to the Knicks earlier this year either. At 21-13 we’re tops in the Central again and stand 1 full game ahead of the Bulls (who dropped one at home last night to our friends, the Bucks). We’re also awfully tough in BLF. We have an 8-0 home streak going and if we win tonight, 9-0 would make that home streak the longest the Pacers have had in over 10 years.
Paul George has been playing better than he ever has been in his life. Lance Stephenson, lately, has been nothing short of phenomenal. David West, while not shooting as well as usual, is way overdue for a big game. Also the Big Dawg’s been much better lately too, especially on the boards. If we can couple good board work with a solid offensive performance from him tonight, I think we can win this thing. Let’s all have Roy’s back.

Reggie’s Back! And We’re on National TV! Yup! Old #31 returns tonight to do the play by play of our game with the Knicks. Let’s do the “Reggie” chant with the voices from G2 Zone tonight and show the nation what basketball means in Indiana.

Quick Change! How the Hell Do They Do It? During halftime of the Miami game we were once again regaled by the speedy sartorial magic of “Quick Change”. This couple is a favorite at all NBA games and they were just as bafflingly good as usual on Tuesday night.

But the big question with Quick Change is how the hell the babe in the act transforms so quickly. It’s baffling. It would take my wife, for example, hours to pull off just one such transformation. The lady in Quick Change does about 7 or 8 quickie makeovers in the space of a 10 minute act. So how does she do it?

On Tuesday, the Roncalli boys in Area 55 opted for the easy answer: “She’s a witch!”

Nice try.

I googled and think I have figured out (sort of) how it’s all really done:

First, the clothes that the babe in the Quick Change act wears are specially designed for fast removal

The clothes that are “changed” are actually patented. They’re specially designed and are very, very lightweight stage costumes, mostly made of silk. They’re so flimsy that you can have around 10 layers of them on and still appear normal.

Also, as designed, the clothes aren’t buttoned or zipped ... that would make doing the changes take way too long. Instead, they have loop and eye fixings and these are held together with single thread that runs through all the paired up loops. The thread simply needs fast removal and then the clothes fall off, drop down ... whatever.

The fastest 'hands free' removal is to have a 'ring' on the top of the thread and this is hooked over something on the 'cover' i.e. the screen, sheet, shredded paper or whatever it is that the performers use to cloak the changing process. When the wearer walks away or this thread is otherwise removed, the clothes drop off and gravity does the rest.

Also, imagine a dress with a top half that is a different color on the inside with a matching top underneath. If the top is separated at the shoulders, it can now flap downwards and become the babe’s skirt... showing the inside color and the new top.

Combine all of these elements into several different change designs, sleeves / no sleeves, high neck / low neck .... and that's it. Presto! Quick Change!.

Obviously though, it's not easy. If that were true, everyone would be doing it.

Re: The all new 2012/13 Area 55, G2 Zone & PTO thread....

If this isn’t a microcosm of what ails the Pistons franchise, I don’t know what is. The team is trying to find 50 hardcore, dedicated fans to ramp up excitement and support at home games this season. The fans, who would be sitting in what the team would call the Power Plant, would get free tickets in the lower bowl for all 41 home games. The only catch was that they had to commit to attending all 41 games, no exceptions. 300 fans signed up for the auditions … but only 11 people showed up.
Now the team is scrambling to hold more auditions, including an impromptu session at Friday’s preseason finale at The Palace. The Pistons are a team that led or were in the top 5 in

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Re: The all new 2012/13 Area 55, G2 Zone & PTO thread....

I think its dead Jim.

"Nobody wants to play against Tyler Hansbrough NO BODY!" ~ Frank Vogel

"And David put his hand in the bag and took out a stone and slung it. And it struck the Philistine on the head and he fell to the ground. Amen. "
Want your own "Just Say No to Kamen" from @mkroeger pic? http://twitpic.com/a3hmca

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Re: The all new 2012/13 Area 55, G2 Zone & PTO thread....

AREA 55 NEWS YOU CAN TAKE TO THE BANK!!!!

Salutations 55ers!

After a long hiatus, the Pacers return to the warm confines of BLF to test their mettle tonight against the (17-28) Detroit Pistons. Their return couldn’t have come sooner, as their recent extended sojourn on the road has been unkind. After a nice road win against Memphis, the Pacers lost successive games to Portland, Utah and Denver. During the road swing, their defense slackened and turnovers mounted, both of which were the reasons for the 3 losses. Hopefully, they’ll get their groove back tonight.
Our foe, Detroit, should not be overlooked. The Pistons are presently 4th in the Central Division and have been playing pretty good ball over the past month or so. They had a hiccup last night, however, when Milwaukee pasted them at home 117-90.

As a team, the Pistons play good defense but struggle to score. Most of their point production comes from their big man Greg Monroe, who leads Detroit at15.7 ppg. Monroe, like Big Roy, is a former Hoya. He’s tall, agile, and possesses power forward ball skills. Their matchup should be of interest. Another interesting matchup for us involves Piston point guard Brandon Knight. Knight produces at 14.1 ppg and, like most NBA pointies is quick and a very good defender. Seeing how George Hill copes with him will also make for interesting viewing. The remainder of the Pistons’ starting consists of aged veteran Tayshaun Prince (11.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg), Jason Maxiell (7.6 ppg, 6 rpg) and and Dukie rookie Kyle Singler (8.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg).

The February Trip to Motown Since lot have been asking, the Suits (and specifically Suit Rob Laycock) are still working on scoring a block of tickets for us for planned February 22nd the Detroit odyssey. Right now there’s a tentative group of around 40 Area 55ers that have signed on and around 35 people from the G2 Zone. Once we know he have the tickets, we’ll better be able to compute your out of pocket costs. We have hopes for a bus as well. Stay tuned!
NOW FOR SOME DETROIT PISTONS FUN FACTS!
Andre Drummund – Teen Angel! In last night’s loss to Milwaukee, Pistons rookie big man Andre Drummond became the second teenager to score 18 points and 18 rebounds in an NBA game since the 1986-87 season. In accomplishing this feat, he joined Dwight Howard who managed it when he was just a mere sprout playing for the Orlando Magic. It remains to be seen whether Andre will also emulate Dwight in becoming a total fool in the future. Time will tell.

Tattoo Time! One of G2 Zone’s guys, Hayden Weaver, has promised to get a Pacers tattoo if Paul George throws in 40 tonight against the Pistons. PG has acknowledged the promise and will be gunning accordingly. Hopefully the tattie will be as good as this Charlie Villanueva image that a Detroit fan has had applied to his left arm: http://tinyurl.com/b46t8mr

Kevin Garnett Trash Talking Revisited. Apropos of the above Fan Tat, in the aftermath of all the hoopla concerning the Kevin Garnett / Carmelo Anthony trash talking incident of a week or so ago (KG allegedly said Carmelo’s wife tasted like a well-known breakfast cereal), and owing to the fact that the Pistons (and Pistons player Charlie Villanueva) will be in town tonight, perhaps it is fitting that our esteemed Newsletter revisit another reported Garnett trash-talking incident from November 2010 that involved Garnett and Charlie Villaneueva.

Following a game between the Celtics and the Pistons, Charlie took to his Twitter account and tweeted thusly:

"KG called me a cancer patient, I'm pissed because, u know how many people died from cancer, and he's tossing it like it's a joke."

Here’s the background.

Garnett, even back then, was known for his trash-talking on the court. And Charlie Villanueva suffers from alopecia universalis, a medical condition that results in hair loss. Owing to it, Charlie does not have hair on his head and hasn’t had any for most of his life.

The Pistons confirmed that Villanueva posted the tweets but had no further comment.

Garnett, when queried about it, called the incident "a major miscommunication." And released a statement of his own:

"My comment to Charlie Villanueva was in fact 'You are cancerous to your team and our league’ I would never be insensitive to the brave struggle that cancer patients endure. I have lost loved ones to this deadly disease and have a family member currently undergoing treatment. I would never say anything that distasteful. The game of life is far bigger than the game of basketball."

After the game Garnett also said: "I'm a passionate player. If you don't like the way I am ... I play this way the last 15, 16 years. I leave it on the court."

"I wouldn't even trip about that, but a cancer patient, I know way 2 many people who passed away from it, and I have a special place 4 those," one of his tweets read.
Another said: "KG talks alot of crap, he's prob never been in a fight, I would love to get in a ring with him, I will expose him."

Although there was no unbiased independent verification of what was actually said between the two players, Garnett and Villanueva did, in fact, get into it during the game. Villanueva was fouled by Garnett en route to the basket with 2:39 to go in the fourth quarter, after which the two exchanged heated words. Celtics coach Doc Rivers then immediately subbed Garnett, but the two were still jawing as KG headed to the bench. At that point, a double technical was called on both players by the officials.

"It was something that went beyond trash-talking, in yesterday's game," said Robert Villanueva, Charlie's older brother and manager. "Charlie's been teased all his life regarding his skin condition. He's the spokesperson for the National Alopecia Areata Foundation and he has made anti-bullying in public schools across America his foundation's primary initiative and purpose. It's one thing to hear negative, insulting comments from sports fans rooting against you, but to hear it from your peers it's just complete stupidity."

Robert Villanueva did take exception with his brother's reaction to Garnett’s taunts, but he also understood.

"I think Charlie could have handled it a little differently, but he's passionate about his cause and beliefs, and I don't blame him for lashing his frustration with his Twitter community," he said. "Keep in mind, we just completed a cancer awareness month and the NBA league is a full partner in fighting this cause. I just don't get it."

Nuggets coach George Karl, himself a cancer survivor, reacted to word that Garnett had called Villanueva a cancer patient this way:

"Sometimes, responsibility comes from knowing when to argue when not to -- when to cross the line and when not to cross the line," he said, according to CBSSports.com. "So philosophically, if Kevin and I were close friends, I'd probably call him up and say, 'I don't think that's right [what you said].' But I also believe that competition makes us do things when we don't have our total mental morality in line. We act like children at times, even coaches."

KG’s Coach, Doc Rivers was frustrated by the incident and stood up for Garnett.

"I actually heard what Kevin said, I was standing right there, and what he released [in a statement through the Celtics organization] is what he said. I'm going to leave it at that. I don't like the whole tweeting thing, I'll state that as well. I think guys talk on the court, that doesn't mean they should or shouldn't. But the fact that we're talking about this, to me, is just silly. It really is."We should be talking about [how] we had a hell of a game the other day and let's talk about basketball. It's amazing to me that this stuff is news now, that's not sports."

Doc, you will recall, was similarly defensive of KG’s conduct in KG’s more recent “Honey Nut Cheerios” incident.
When pressed on Garnett's rumored remarks, he said:

"That did not happen. "Well, No. 1, I know what's been reported did not happen," Rivers said adamantly during his weekly interview on Boston sports radio station WEEI. "I know that as a fact."
Rivers instead chalked up the incident to Anthony trying to deflect attention back to Garnett.

“Guys, you know how this works. A guy does something crazy like Carmelo did, and the way to get out of trouble is to say, 'Well, he said this.' It happens all the time, and what bugs me about this whole thing is this is not a Kevin Garnett issue. And it was made into one, and it shouldn't have been made into one."

Rivers did admit that players can cross the line when it comes to trash talking, particularly if the language is racial in nature or is directed at another player's family, but he said Garnett knows where that line is and doesn't cross it.

"It's pretty crude, I can tell you. Out there at times, you hear some crazy stuff. But when it gets racial or personal to family, then that crosses the line. But I'm going to say it again: In this case, that didn't happen. (Garnett) does (know where the line is). He does. I will say that. I've never heard him cross the line. And usually when he talks about guys, it's usually about their game or their team or what he thinks if the guy's a winner or loser."

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge weighed in on the Garnett-Anthony issue during his own appearance on the same Boston sports show, saying he was more concerned with the safety of his players than the actual trash talking on the floor.

"Well, you know, I'm not really concerned about what players are saying on the court. I mean, I've been involved in so many big games and so much talking going on. I, first of all, can't imagine that anybody lets anybody ... I don't care what it is on the court, in the heat of battle, bother you. That's the first thing. So, I'm not worried about that from our team standpoint or our players. Second of all, my concerns are more just security and issues revolving around postgame and the safety of my players. I'm not so much worried about all the shenanigans that are going on."

Asked further about why Garnett has received such heavy criticism for his reported remarks about Anthony's wife, Ainge offered:

"I don't know. I'm just telling you my perspective, and my perspective is I would be embarrassed if somebody said something that threw me off my game."

Ainge said he wasn't sure if the one-game suspension Anthony was dealt by the NBA was warranted, but he did acknowledge that punishments need to be put in place to help prevent incidents such as these in the future.

"Well, you know, I think that this is a first-time incident of this type of situation, and they're making it a first-time warning to the whole league," Ainge said. "You don't confront players in the locker room or by the bus after games, and if you do, you get suspended. The next time anybody does it, it'll be a much bigger suspension, I'm sure."

Sigh. I guess the lesson here for all concerned is that everybody needs to watch what you say and when and how you say it.

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Re: The all new 2012/13 Area 55, G2 Zone & PTO thread....

AREA 55 NEWS YOU CAN TAKE TO THE BANK!!!!!

Salutations 55ers!

Tonight the Pacers (27-19) get a home rematch with the Eastern Conference leading (29-13) Miami Heat. Last time, you’ll recall, the Pacers put a lock on the vaunted Heat offensive juggernaut, holding them to a season low and winning 87-77.

In that matchup, Paul George was fabulous, registering 29 points and 11 rebounds while basically corralling His Majesty, LeBron James. LeBron, you’ll recall, managed only 22 points, 10 boards and tallied a season high 7 turnovers largely as a result of PG’s defensive pressure.

LeBron, undoubtedly, will remember that game back early January and will be looking for revenge. At least so says Mike Wells

Remember that game?

On Paul George:

“Matched up against the league’s MVP, 22-year-old Paul George stepped up on the big stage and looked comfortable in the moment. With Danny Granger still out, the spotlight would be on George to not only guard LeBron James, but to be Indiana’s focal point offensively. Finishing with 29 points and 11 rebounds in 44 minutes and limiting James to 22, George wouldn’t go so far as saying that it was his most meaningful performance on the big stage but NBA fans couldn’t help but take notice.”

On Lance Stephenson:

“Like George, Stephenson had that look in his face and was part of an early battle going against Dwayne Wade. Stephenson scored seven of the Pacers’ first eight points because of his early aggressiveness. He was hustling after loose balls, getting into the paint and running the fast break. Wade scored 23 in the first half on 8 of 12 shooting, but made just one more shot the reest of the game.”

On our Bench:

“When Indiana turned to their second unit, they carried their weight and more, extending the Pacers lead to as many as 10. Gerald Green came off the bench to score all seven of his points in the second quarter. D.J. Augustin scored four points, registered eight assists and went without a turnover in 25 minutes..”

On our Rebounding:

“The Pacers dominated the glass, outrebounding the Heat 55-36, including 22 offensive rebounds which led to 23 second-chance points.”

Also of Note:

“Miami’s Big Three of James, Wade, and Bosch were the Heat’s only players in double figures with a combined total of 66 points. The rest of the Heat team managed only 11 points. Ray Allen went 0-5, only the second time to be held scoreless in his long NBA career.”

Yes, there is so much to despise about the Heat. The sense of entitlement that comes with all their games, the smarmy truckling from their hoard of bandwagon fans, the faithlessness and lack of loyalty that accompanied LeBron’s nationally-televised “Decision”, the fawning they get from the media, the calls they get from intimidated referees.

Then there are the personalities of the Heat players themselves to consider. Remember all the cheap shots and jawing the Pacers suffered through in the Playoffs? Sure, you remember. It came largely from the likes of Heat lesser lights like Howard, Haslem, and Pittman. But it also came from their all-world flopper and whiner, Dwayne Wade.

There is really so, so much reason to hate Miami.

Wanna see more of what I mean? Well, here’s Stephen A. Smith at his adoring, toadying best on LeBron in the Heat’s last win at Brooklyn:

Tonight Paul George will face LeBron again and it is likely that unheralded Lance Stephenson will be called upon again to check the $230,000 Birthday Boy, Dwayne Wade. All America will see the game and Jon Barry, who hates us, will be on hand to help with the play-by-play.

Let’s help the Pacers tonight, 55ers. Let’s show up in our seat ON TIME for a change. Let’s not be drunk or off focus. Let’s be loud and nasty. Let’s not let up in our chanting.

We were awfully loud back in January when the Heat came to town determined to put it on us. Then, contrary to all expectations of the pundits, it didn’t happen. Rather, we prevailed, beating the Heat soundly and efficiently in a game that reeked of Playoff intensity. Area 55 contributed to the home noise that night and played a small, but not insignificant part in that win.

Let’s be equally strong for our guys tonight, 55ers. There are games that call for our best efforts and this is one of them.

Re: The all new 2012/13 Area 55, G2 Zone & PTO thread....

AREA 55 NEWS THAT YOU CAN TAKE TO THE BANK!!!!!

Salutations 55ers!

Apologies for the tardiness, but I’ve been on the phone with Nigeria working on a deal (no, it did not involve and African prince, oil revenues, or the need for my bank account number) and the Newsletter had to sadly take a back seat. But it’s the goddam Bulls, so I felt I had to say something even if its belated.

Tonight, needless to say, we have a whopper of a game. Yup, the big bad Chicago Bulls are back to BLF after getting a reprieve due to the December 28th snowstorm. What we’ll see of them remains conjectural as of this moment.

First, it’s pretty clear their main stud, Derrick Rose, will not play. He’s still on the recovery road from the Achilles tendon rupture that he incurred in Game 1 of the Playoffs last year. Supposedly he’s involved in contact practices but still isn’t there yet. But the Bulls injury report doesn’t stop there. Most of the Bulls’ regulars are supposed to be seriously hurting.

Joakim Noah is reportedly injured (plantar fasciitis); Carlos Boozer is reportedly injured (hamstring) and Kirk Hinrich is reportedly injured (elbow). All are supposedly “day-to-day.” When and if all or any of them play tonight will be a game decision to be made by Dr. Evil lookalike and Bulls’ coach Tom Thibodeau Thibodeau may be sandbagging us with all the injury reports. We’ll see. In our last meet up in Chicago, we prevailed 80-76 in perhaps our best road effort of the year. If we win, we’ll be tied again with Chicago for 1st in the Central.

As 55ers. we have to be ready to bring it tonight whether its a depleted Bulls roster we see or a full one. Our taurine foes from the stockyards will be playing loose and pressure free. No one expects them to win with all these injuries. Atlanta didn’t take them seriously. We seriously need to.

Indeed, the Bulls got along just fine in their last game without the above three starters, pasting Atlanta on the road by double digit numbers. We can’t be complacent. If the wounded trio does not play, we’ll still have the likes of Luol Deng, Taj Gibson, Marques Teague, Jimmy Butler and Nate Robinson to deal with. They were more than enough to bury Atlanta.

I anticipate a challenge. Area 55 will need to be in top form. Let’s bring it.

Dodgeball!!! I got this missive over the weekend from the Suits. You need to respond to get in!

“Greetings Dodgeball Enthusiasts,
You are invited to a dodgeball match with both Area 55 and G2 Zone members on Feb 7 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. You will need to be at the Fieldhouse no later than 5:30pm and it will be over by 8:30pm.
This will be a friendly match where both fan sections will compete with and against each other. You can choose to show your wicked dodgeball skills and play, or stay out of the battlefield and spectate. This is high exertion activity. You must be physically able to play and it is strongly recommended that if you have injuries or other ailments, please do not participate.
This event is exclusively for the winners chosen by Roy Hibbert, Paul George and George Hill at the beginning of the season. Please note guests are NOT permitted at this event.
Please RSVP by clicking this link & filling out the form
Area 55 Staff”

For those of you who want to know what dodgeball entails, here’s the skinny on it from Wikipedia:

The Following User Says Thank You to PritchSlap For This Useful Post:

Re: The all new 2012/13 Area 55, G2 Zone & PTO thread....

AREA 55 NEWS YOU CAN TAKE TO THE BANK!!!

Salutations, 55ers!

Tonight the Pacers get a chance to make it 15 in a row at home. However, we’ll be truly tested.

First, for us, it will be the second of a series of back-to-back-to-back games. We’re the only team in the league this year that is required to do this. (Thank you NBA and Commish David Stern!). Our foe, Atlanta, will be playing with a full day’s rest. We won’t.

Second, Atlanta is the Eastern Division monkey on our backs. Previously this season the Pacers blew two big chances to beat the Hawks, albeit on the road. The first came on November 7th when we lost 89-86. In that game we snatched defeat from the jaws of victory by blowing a huge lead and letting Atlanta go on a Kyle Korver-led 18-0 run in the last 5 minutes. In our second encounter on December 29th we lost 109-100 and really were never in the game. All told, Atlanta has now beaten us 11 straight on their home floor. We’re 0-4 against them in our last 4 games.

There’s reason to be hopeful though. We’re playing really well right now and we’re awfully good at BLF. We haven’t lost at home since December 7th when Denver dropped us. Indeed, if we beat the 26-20 Hawks tonight for our 15th straight home win, it’ll be the first time we’ve done that since we went on a 25-game home run during the 1999-2000 season.

Our defense has been solid. The Pacers are giving up a miserly 85.0 points per game and holding opponents to 40.5 percent shooting during our current streak. Also, our offense lately has definitely been improving. Although we’re still among the league's lowest scoring teams at 92.4 points per game, the Pacers have been averaging 104.4 over our last 5 games. During those same last 5 games, we’ve outrebounded opponents by 9.6 boards.

By contrast, the Hawks stink on the road. They’ve dropped 7 of their last 8 away games and are coming off an extremely embarrassing 93-76 home loss to the same depleted Chicago team that we leveled last night.

Keys tonight will be keeping our turnovers down and our rebounding up. The Hawks outrebounded us in both of our previous games. Defensively, we’ll need to keep Hawks center Al Horford in check. He’s averaging a team-best 18.0 points with 7.5 rebounds against Indiana this season.

Why Does Our Attendance Stink? I just got a tweet from former Area 55er Big Jon Wall advising that the Pacers attendance figures this year are awful. The stats are here:

We’re 26th in the 30 team NBA in attendance. Why is this so? We’re playing great ball, presently tied for 1st in the Central and 3rd overall in the East. We’re winning at home, have several present or former All-Stars on our roster in Danny Granger, Paul George, David West, and Roy Hibbert, and the team has been squeaky clean since the 2004 “Malice in the Palace” episode that first tarred our local image. So why is our home attendance only better than Milwaukee, Detroit, Charlotte, and Sacramento?

Just for funsies I googled the question and here’s a summary of what I found by way of answers. I present them to you in no particular order:

1. Indianapolis Area People Have Lots of Other Options. Notre Dame surged into the National Title Game this year after years of irrelevance. IU Basketball is back with a vengeance. Butler is taking up a fair amount of attention. It's not just that people are still bitter with the Pacers (even though it's a totally different team now), it's that there is so much else that is going well for Indiana sports teams that the Pacers just get kind of ignored until playoff time.

2. All the Games Are on Fox Sports. All of the Pacers games are on FSN Indiana. Ergo, people don't feel the need to go to the stadium when they can stay home and watch the Pacers for nothing.

3. Indiana Is Filled with Fair Weather Fans. Indiana, despite very much being a basketball (and generally all sports) state, is filled with fair weather fans. The Pacers fell off qualitatively after the 2004 Detroit melee. During the ensuing time frame and the awful Jim O’Brien era, everyone started to watch the Colts. Same thing happened a few years back when IU was tanking. Everyone in the state then suddenly became lifelong Butler fans.

4. The Pacers Have No Marquee Players. Sure, people love the Pacers, but some will only shell out for good tix when a big name team comes to Indy. People here don’t care to watch the Pacers play a 76-68 game against the Timberwolves

5. The Pacers Aren’t Exciting. The Pacers have no single outstanding star player like Kobe, LeBron, or Carmelo. Sure, they are an excellent team with great chemistry and this allows them to be one of the best defensive teams in the league, but that isn’t enough to make them an exciting team to watch. Most people like to watch the teams with high powered offenses led by star players. Offensively, the Pacers don’t have much power. .

6. It’s Geography, Stupid! Outside of the Indianapolis area, the highest population density is in the northern and northwest part of the state. And everyone in North and Northwest Indiana is a Chicago Bulls fan.

7. It’s Our History of Failure. Nobody here really expects us to win a championship. We’ve never done that. We have a long history of failure. True, we’ve been pretty good sometimes, but never good enough. Hey, we’re only first in our division because Rose is out and the East is bad. Yes, the Pacers sometimes look like they will consistently make the playoffs, but that only sticks them in NBA hell -- being just good enough to miss out on great lottery picks, but never quite good enough to make it to the Finals with the personnel we have.

8. Indianapolis Doesn’t Appreciate What It’s Got! If the Pacers moved to Chicago as a second team, or to New York as a third, they would sell out every night.

Personally, I hold with #8. Also, attendance lately seems to have been picking up.

Got any ideas of your own on the reasons for our low attendance figures? Let me know!

***
Let’s be loud and proud tonight, 55ers. Let’s help our boys dispatch Atlanta, a nuisance that has troubled us for far too long.

Re: The all new 2012/13 Area 55, G2 Zone & PTO thread....

AREA 55 NEWS YOU CAN TAKE TO THE BANK!!!

Salutations, Fellow 55ers!

Tonight we get to view the Los Angeles Clippers tandem of Chris Paul and Blake Griffin as they bring their vaunted lob/dunk act to our Temple of Doom. Sadly, our good friend and patron, Roy Hibbert, will not be in uniform to stymie their aerial show, as he has been sidelined by another opaque decision from the NBA front office following Tuesday night’s 4th Quarter dust-up with the Golden State Warriors. Here I'm referring to Roy's one-game suspension.

The Indianapolis Star’s beat writer, Mike Wells, thinks Roy’s absence will probably cost us the game and has picked the Clippers to win by 7 points. We’ll see, Mike.

With Roy out, my guess is that his backup, Ian Mahinmi, will likely start in his place and Jeff Pendergraph will be seeing the off-the-bench minutes normally allotted to Iannie.
Mike Wells’ prognostications notwithstanding, I still like our chances tonight. In such times the Pacers generally rise to the occasion and surprise everyone. I am banking on something like happening tonight.

Of course, given the circumstances, Area 55 needs to make its presence felt even more than usual. I say this first, because the Pacers will now have to play a very good NBA team without the presence of its main defensive anchor (that’s Roy to you uninitiated). Second, we need to be loud to show Roy we support him and that we have his back.

Roy’s one game suspension rankles me. The fracas was not initiated by him. It started when the Warriors’ David Lee elected to give him a two-handed shove in the chest. Whether that sort of thing happens on NBA hardwood or in a school playground, a normal male responds with a counter-shove or fisticuffs. Roy’s response, a firm counter-shove to Mr. Lee, was an appropriately measured response, IMHO. If things had been left there, maybe the referees would have puzzled over videotape for five minutes and then gone on to assess the standard NBA response – a technical foul to each player. However, after a mutual chest bump ensured, things got chaotic.

Golden State’s guard, Stef Curry,for undisclosed reasons, elected at this point in time to wrap his arms around Roy’s waist. Precisely why he did this is unclear. Roy and Lee had been separated at this point and their confrontation was really over. Why Curry decided to intervene then made little sense.

It is usually a mistake for a player to ever grab a counterpart on an opposing team. Doing that in the heat of an NBA fracas is an act that is very apt to be misinterpreted. Sure, it might be a well-intentioned peacekeeping move. But it might also be perceived as an escalating act of hostility. If you want to be a peacemaker, it’s always best to constrain your own teammates and not members of the opposition.

Just what Curry was thinking by his grabbing Roy is hard to say. Maybe his motives were initially pure. Maybe they weren’t. Roy, however, isn’t a mind-reader and he responded by summarily flinging Curry off himself like the gnat-like nuisance he really was. No punch was thrown at Curry; rather, Roy just shrugged him off, basically discarding Curry like an unwanted article of clothing.

At this, Curry then plainly took offense. He bounced off the floor where he found himself and then ran at Roy again. This time Curry’s actions were unambiguous. He was angry and no honest person watching him come at Roy the second time would ever believe that his intent was dovish.

Roy responded to Curry’s second attempt to grab him by swiftly doing a reprise of his initial shrug. The result was Curry being discarded for a second time. Thereafter players from both teams weighed in with more pushing and shoving until David West entered the fray and restored order.

The ensuing NBA punishment had Roy and David Lee each being awarded one-game suspensions and Lance Stephenson, Klay Thompson, and Curry being fined $35,000 apiece. Why Curry wasn’t suspended too is beyond me. But we’ll never know what the NBA’s take on the episode was. Lee is reportedly appealing his punishment. If he is, Roy probably should too.

Wear Black Tonight! To show solidarity with Roy; express our disdain for his suspension; and lament his absence, Area 55 members are asked to wear something visibly black under our regular gear.

Impetus for this recommended adjustment comes from Member Shelley Prickel. I might add that the move has the full endorsement of my wife, who tells me that from a color-coordination standpoint black basically goes with everything. She also tells me wearing that black would make for a welcome perceived slimming effect on those viewing some of Area 55's more portly members.

Check Out the Miller Time Podcast! Loyal Area 55 members Jon LaFollette and Dave Searle have put together an entertaining Podcast that hopefully will have future repeats. Check it out here:

Re: The all new 2012/13 Area 55, G2 Zone & PTO thread....

I'm coming up tonight and would like to meet some of you guys... But can't remember which lot is PTO or where it is that you guys meet up at after the game... I remember it was by a trash bin... But can't remember what section...

Re: The all new 2012/13 Area 55, G2 Zone & PTO thread....

I'm coming up tonight and would like to meet some of you guys... But can't remember which lot is PTO or where it is that you guys meet up at after the game... I remember it was by a trash bin... But can't remember what section...

When it happens, the PD "Trash Talk" has moved down into the main lobby over by the window to the practice court.

BillS

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
Or throw in a first-round pick and flip it for a max-level point guard...

Re: The all new 2012/13 Area 55, G2 Zone & PTO thread....

I'm coming up tonight and would like to meet some of you guys... But can't remember which lot is PTO or where it is that you guys meet up at after the game... I remember it was by a trash bin... But can't remember what section...

PTO lot is in the SouthEast Corner of Pennsylvania and South Street, across Pennsylvania from Arbys.

I'm going to hyperlink that map one of these days.

"Nobody wants to play against Tyler Hansbrough NO BODY!" ~ Frank Vogel

"And David put his hand in the bag and took out a stone and slung it. And it struck the Philistine on the head and he fell to the ground. Amen. "
Want your own "Just Say No to Kamen" from @mkroeger pic? http://twitpic.com/a3hmca

Re: The all new 2012/13 Area 55, G2 Zone & PTO thread....

Sorry... I am bad w downtown streets... I always park across from Slippery Noodle... Is that it?

close. the PTO lot is directly south of the Fieldhouse (with the railroad tracks between the two of course). you cant see Subway from the PTO lot.

"Nobody wants to play against Tyler Hansbrough NO BODY!" ~ Frank Vogel

"And David put his hand in the bag and took out a stone and slung it. And it struck the Philistine on the head and he fell to the ground. Amen. "
Want your own "Just Say No to Kamen" from @mkroeger pic? http://twitpic.com/a3hmca

Re: The all new 2012/13 Area 55, G2 Zone & PTO thread....

Is it sad or wrong that in a night that I sat 4th row in a good Pacers win that the highlight of my evening was getting to meet Naptown, Trader, Hicks, BillS, and Roaming Gnome? It was kind of like getting to meet the Beatles of PD...

Had I met Peck (btw Gnome tried to steal your identity), Sandman, and RobfromPacers my night would have been complete!

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Re: The all new 2012/13 Area 55, G2 Zone & PTO thread....

Speaking of Map, because I was busy working on more Dale Davis one word images, I got around to throwing together an updated map:

"Nobody wants to play against Tyler Hansbrough NO BODY!" ~ Frank Vogel

"And David put his hand in the bag and took out a stone and slung it. And it struck the Philistine on the head and he fell to the ground. Amen. "
Want your own "Just Say No to Kamen" from @mkroeger pic? http://twitpic.com/a3hmca